Resto-Mods. Choose Wisely Grasshopper.

If you have tuned in to Speed Channel, Discovery Channel or A&E you have seen evidence that pure unmolested collectible cars are starting to lose the public interest. The new crop of resto-mods and complete customs are stealing the attention of individuals who are looking for something different.

Companies like Speedster Motor Cars and K.A.R Auto Group are gaining market share by combining the best of both worlds: old car styling and modern conveniences like air conditioning and power seats. Other companies are recreating cars that are just not available in the market at any price. Got to love entrepreneurship.

Further evidence of this trend was spearheaded by Ford with the GT and the retooled Mustang. GM is a bit late to market but the new Camaro looks fun. Again the magic formula old lines with modern conveniences and yes I did repeat myself.

Even the car shows and concours events have a resto-mod category. Check this event out. One huge factor that contributes to the market change is the unavailability of original parts...thanks to town ordinances and the EPA crack down on salvage yards. Foreign reproduction parts shown at SEMA just do not make the grade.

Buying a Resto-Mod or Custom

Buyer beware. Unless you're a restoration professional or a well-seasoned collector it can be difficult to evaluate the level of workmanship and quality of base parts and components used. Body work and a nice paint job can cover many imperfections. You may never find out what is underneath until you have a fender bender.

ResaleThe great thing about a customized vehicle or resto-mod is that you can add any option, color combination or widget your heart desires. The problem comes when you decide to sell. You need to find the right person with similar tastes and pockets almost as deep as yours. Yup you guessed it, "The proverbial needle in a haystack." Oh, did I mention be prepared in most cases to take a loss and in some cases a huge loss? The best way to look at it is "I had fun with my pride and joy and the bath I am taking now is just the cost of owning a customized car." Sounds a bit like buying a boat doesn't it? Been there, done that and got the t-shirt!

Comments

Good points! Value of these cars is tied *entirely* to the quality of the workmanship and the quality of the components used.

I have no problem with modifying mass-production old cars, like say a '65 Mustang coupe---there are a gazillion of them out there. Or even a plain-jane 67 Camaro...by all means stuff in a big block and modern transmission and brakes.

The only time I draw the line on resto-mods is when people chop up a very rare car, because then it is lost to history....well, I'll even qualify THAT....a rare car that people also CARE about....nobody much cares what you do to yet another "rare" 4-door Studebaker.

Well if it's an old 4-door Packard 6 cylinder car, that wouldn't be so bad. Nobody much wants those anymore. But a straight 8 coupe, yeah, that would be a crime.

I rarely see original 30s Fords anymore---they were being chopped up when they were nearly NEW--LOL! The whole rod-custom industy/hobby was born with the first Ford V-8s....in fact the whole idea of "collecting old cars" originated with the Ford people. In the 1950s/60s, nobody saved old cars except the Ford nuts.

It was only after domestic cars became so awful that people started looking back to the wonderful styling and fun built into older cars (this started late 70s, early 80s).

I've seen butchered Packard touring sedans, a 34 roadster (!), resto-rod Pierce Arrows, many torn apart Airflows and early Zephyrs...it's amazing what people will do.

When I say an original Ford, I mean one that isn't chopped and de-fendered and running a newer engine. Period performance mods are cool, but these flamboyant 70s and 80s customs get kind of tiresome. I think most of them have been rodded. From what I've seen in Hemmings, the originals do being good money though, as much as the rods.

Great money for originals. But the rods are often as not just bolt-on stuff.

You can get good money for a 30s Ford rod if it's done by a well-known builder and if the workmanship is outstanding. Otherwise, all those bolt-on "catalog" rods are the same price...$25,000 to $35,000 no matter how much you put into it.

I totally agree.Taking a car & rodding it or resto-modding it is fine.Sticking huge ,ugly wheels because HE thinks it 's a great look,is just wrong.the Huge wheel thing needs to die off already.To put all that time& money into a car,then putting it on 2os,makes it look cheesy&plain dumb

What if you wanted to choose on a whim? I mean, I have always thought that, for instance, the mid-'60s Buick Skylarks were pretty cars; not classic or even wonderful cars, but pretty. Even weirder, I kind of like the styling of the 4-door hardtops. If I had money to burn I might like to put a modern drivetrain, modern suspension, modern brakes, etc. into one and drive it around. Going further back, I might even do something like that to a '55 or '56 Ford Fairlane. Any other nut cases out there who have some off-beat car they would like to resto-mod?

Resto-mods are fun, and I've driven quite a few of them. They can drive and handle really well if you know what you are doing. The only problem is that you'd better hold onto it forever because it's going to cost a lot to do right, and you'll never, ever see your money out of one again. You'll only get back .25 cents on your dollar, if you're lucky.